The Pains of Being a Hero
by GhostStone
Summary: Matt wouldn't have been surprised to meet the Avengers as Daredevil, but to meet them as Matt Murdock was unexpected. All he had wanted was to finish his errands without incident, but after saving a distracted Tony Stark and causing himself harm in the process, Matt finds himself the victim of reporters, Tony Stark's fans, and an eccentric billionaire. (Sequel: A Rising Threat)
1. Running Errands is Never Simple

It wasn't often that Matt left Hell's kitchen, and if he was honest, he did not like it. Hell's Kitchen was familiar and he knew the layout, but today he was in a whole other part of the city. At night perhaps it might not have been so bad, but now, during the middle of the day, the streets were crowded and the road noise was almost intolerable to him. He had to rely heavily on his cane for navigation as he was receiving far too much input to receive a reliable picture of his surroundings.

Foggy hadn't realized how much Matt would have rather not left their office, when he asked if Matt could run an errand that would take him outside of Hell's kitchen. After learning that Matt was Daredevil, he had begun treating him differently. Despite being glad that Foggy was no longer overly preoccupied with his safety when they weren't together, Matt wished that Foggy would understand that so called superpowers or not, he was in fact blind, and even if he could get around just fine on his own and protect himself, he was at a disadvantage in many other ways.

Mainly information. People with sight never seemed to realize just how much information was conveyed through visual means, and though more advancements were being made for people who were blind, it was still incredibly difficult at times. Being in a new part of the city that he was unfamiliar to, without a guide, probably wasn't something he usually would have attempted, but with Foggy still upset and not understanding, he hadn't protested. Matt had memorized a map of this part of the city beforehand, and when he had gotten off of the subway at his stop, he carefully kept track of the streets.

Matt was three blocks from his intended location, doing his best to tune out the disruptive noise of the city, when a sequences of concerning noises caught his attention. The first was the sound of screeching tires. The beeping of the crosswalk alarms alerted him that with the shrinking distance between the truck and the intersection and the apparent speed of the vehicle, it would not stop in time for the light. With a bit of franticness, Matt extended his senses toward the crosswalk of the intersection he had just finished crossing and froze for a moment. There was a man crossing, still in the road and talking on his phone. He was clearly entirely oblivious to the rapidly approaching danger.

Before another moment could pass, Matt turned, abandoning his cane in haste and spinning back to face the stranger, rushing forward and tackling the man out of the way just in time for the truck to brush passed them in a rush of air, the still screeching tires grating on his eardrums. Matt groaned and rolled off the man, bringing a hand up to his head. The throbbing pain that was there was not only caused by the overstimulation of his senses, but he seemed to have hit his head as well when he had dived to rescue the man.

"You saved my life." The man said, his voice carrying a tone of shock. "That truck would have run me over." Matt didn't answer, trying to gain his bearings. The people in the surrounding area had stopped and many were chattering excitedly, adding to the noise surrounding them. Hitting the ground had dazed him enough that he was completely disoriented. "Woah." The man exclaimed. "Are you blind? How did you even—" The man paused, snorting quietly and allowing his question to die off. "Nevermind. We can discuss that later. Right now we need to get out of the road." Matt heard the man get to his feet. He realized that he should get up as well, but couldn't seem to get the message to his legs at the moment. Then there was a moment of silence. "Oops, sorry. I was offering you my hand, but of course you couldn't—do you need some help getting up?"

Matt held out his hand and was pulled to his feet. He slipped his hand up to grasp just above the man's elbow, steadying himself. A sudden wave of dizziness caused him to tighten his grip. The still increasing noise from the gathering crowd was making his disorientation worse, and he realized that he couldn't concentrate enough at all to get an idea of his surroundings. "Do you see my cane?" He asked, beginning to feel anxious.

The man turned back towards the road and made a small noise of dismay. "The truck ran it over. It's in pieces." Matt sighed, unintentionally gripping the man's arm more firmly. He needed to contact Foggy. Foggy would come and pick him. He did not regret pushing the man out of the way, but now he felt rather helpless. His faint dizziness combined with the loss of his cane would make it nearly impossible to get back on his own. And his growing headache was making everything even more disorienting. He was grateful that the man that he was holding onto wasn't making a big deal of the fact that he was clearly staring to panic. He hadn't said anything about Matt clinging to him and hadn't acted in the least uncomfortable. The man led him further away from the edge of the road. "Look, my place is literally half a block away, and you really don't look so good right now and these people are animals. How about I take you there and you can call someone."

"I can get back. Just because—" He was protesting before he really even realized it.

"Hey, calm down. I'm sure you could find your way back normally, but right now you can't walk straight even holding onto my arm, and your cane is broken because of me. No way I let you try to get home on your own. Let's get out of here first, alright?"

"Hmm? Oh. Okay, then." Matt suddenly realized that the man had been leading him while he wasn't paying attention. "I'm Matt. Matt Murdock."

The man suddenly paused and Matt knew he had turned to look at him. "Oh. Of course you didn't recognize…I'm Tony Stark."

Matt felt a wave of shock fill him as he suddenly placed why the voice had seemed slightly familiar. He had heard it from many TVs over the last few years. Well at least if he was going off with a random stranger it was someone could trust. Despite the bizarre and irresponsible persona the man presented to the public, Matt was certain that he wouldn't bring him to harm. And they weren't in Hell's Kitchen, where strangers were not to be trusted at all for the most part. Tony continued forward and then they entered a building. They went up an elevator, and then Matt was led to a couch. He sat down, bringing a hand up to his head. He was bleeding—not much, but a swollen lump on the side of his forehead was oozing steadily. His senses were still on overdrive but giving him no useful feedback due to either the adrenaline or the injury, and he knew a migraine was coming. "Do you have something I could use to stop the bleeding?" A damp cloth hit him in the face before he could catch it. His senses were really off.

"I'm sorry!" Tony exclaimed. "That was really stupid of me."

A snort escaped him and he brought the cloth to his forehead. The coolness of the cloth felt good against his aching head. "No. really, it's okay. You'd be surprised at how annoying people can be when they act like I'm broken. You forgetting is a refreshing change. Most people see the blindness before me."

"I don't know anyone who is blind, so if you want something specific you'll need to tell me. And I've never been most people. Thanks, you know. I don't think I said that. Pepper is going to kill me when she hears I almost got ran over. And because I was on my phone nonetheless. Next time I fly. Clearly the roads aren't any safer for me than my suit—she'll have to accept that logic."

Tony sighed at sank onto the couch beside Matt. "Let me see how bad it is." Matt pulled the cloth away from his forehead and Tony leaned forward. "That is going to need to be looked at. I have someone who can clean it for you—a friend. He's down in one of the labs. It's the least I could do. He's not technically a medical doctor, but he has lots of experience as one."

"Sure." Matt said. It wouldn't hurt to have someone look at him, and it wasn't as if he usually had a doctor. Claire wasn't a nurse either, but she seemed to be plenty capable of looking after him. And it seemed like Tony would insist if he refused, and he wasn't up to an argument.

"And are you sure you are alright, anyway? You look really pale."

Matt gave a small shrug and winced. "I don't need a doctor. I didn't hit my head hard. It's just… it's normal. You can get your friend up here, and by the time he's done, my friend can probably get here to take me home."

"I can have someone give you a ride, you know." Tony said softly. "You sure you don't need a hospital?"

"I don't need a hospital." Matt suddenly brought his other hand up to his head as it abruptly began to throb worse than it had before. Suddenly all the surrounding noises seemed to be magnified even more than usual. He gritted his teeth, bracing himself against the sudden, intense pain. "I need…" Matt pulled out his phone and dialed Foggy before pushing the phone at Tony. "Foggy knows. Right now I can't…I need…" He trailed off and rubbed his fingers against his temples, holding his head. It was definitely going to be a bad one. He heard Foggy answer the phone as Tony held the phone to his ear.

What's up, Matty? I thought we agreed not to bother each other today.

Tony glanced at Matt before speaking. "Not Matt. He's here with me, and he's not looking so good, but he insists he's fine and doesn't need a hospital."

Hold on a second! Is he alright? What happened to him?

"He's mostly alright, I think. There was a truck, and he pushed me out of the way. He hit his head, but not hard—or so he says. I don't know what is wrong. He insisted that I call you. Can you come?"

Of course. Where are you?

"My bag." Matt forced out, causing Tony to turn and stare at him for a few moments. "Tell him."

"He said something about a bag? I'm sorry, he's not very clear right now."

His bag? Oh. Yeah, I'll bring it. You can believe him then—he should be okay. Where am I meeting you?

"Avengers Tower."

Avengers… There was a snort on the other end of the line, confusing Tony. I'll be there as soon as possible—twenty-five minutes max. Until I get there just… turn off anything you can that is making noise and get rid of anything strongly scented. And stay with him. I'm on my way now. Foggy hung up, and Tony set down the phone, somewhat amused. That was one of the stranger phone conversations he had had.

"JARVIS, get it as quiet as you can in here."

"Of, course, sir. Dr. Banner is on his way up now. He is currently in the elevator."

Matt had stopped acknowledging Tony. The man's heartbeat pounded in his ears, his anxiety was broadcasted clearly to Matt. He heard the elevator arrive and then suddenly there was another person. Even through the haze that had settled over his mind, Matt found himself curious—drawn to the stranger. Though just as loud as Tony's, this man's heartbeat was calm and steady in a strange, almost controlled manner.

"JARVIS told me you needed me." The man said, and Matt winced, causing Tony to warn him to be quieter. Matt wasn't really able to answer the man's question, only forcing out that he did not want to go to the hospital. The man—who had introduced himself as Bruce—seemed doubtful, but agreed to wait and let Foggy make that determination when he arrived. Matt felt the man feel around the wound with gentle fingers before he spoke. "There is some dirt in it. It's really best that we clean it now before it starts to heal at all, but it will hurt a bit."

Matt gave a slight nod. The pain of the wound being cleaned was nothing compared to the pain building in his head. Even in this tower on the seventy-fifty floor he could hear the voices of the people on the street below as if they were right beside him. Still, he couldn't help but flinch as his wound was cleaned. After what seemed like hours, Tony and Bruce withdrew, leaving him to himself. Without their distraction, Matt slipped into a state of oblivion, unaware of everything except the noise and pain.


	2. Foggy is a Good Friend

Foggy had spent the entire morning that Saturday lounging in his apartment on his couch, enjoying the day off and watching trashy daytime television, but in reality he was bored. He was used to spending most of his free time with Matt but despite having discussed some of their differences over the whole 'my blind best friend can actually see and is secretly a superhero who beats up criminals at night' fiasco, their friendship was irreparably changed. It would heal, he was sure of that, but it would never entirely go back to what they had had before.

He had actually been happy when Matt's name showed up on his caller ID. Foggy was too stubborn to be the first to reach out, and really he knew that it was Matt's fault in the first place that they were having a fight—at least what passed for them as a fight as they had never really had one before. But really, if Matt were to ask him if he wanted to just hang out or go out to grab something to eat, he would say yes—after pretending to be reluctant for a few moments of course because he wasn't going to let Matt know just how bored he was. Still, the bastard would probably use his blind ninja voodoo and know about it anyway. He was still a bit bad about that.

To hear someone else on the end of his phone immediately set his heart to racing. Even before he had learned of Matt's nighttime activities, he had always worried that someday he would get a call—that something would happen to Matt. He knew Matt was capable, especially now knowing of his senses, but if anything knowing just how capable Matt was made his worry even worse. There was only so much trouble that someone who was truly blind could get into, and Matt had seemed to always find it.

Tony Stark had called him. Tony Stark—Iron Man—had called him, Foggy Nelson. He would be a lot more excited right now if the phone call had been anything other than to inform him that Matt once again, was injured. It was totally not surprising that Matt had saved someone from being hit by a car. That was who he was. However, the irony at Matt saving Tony Stark out of all the people in New York was not lost on him at all. He thought it was hilarious, and when he was sure that Matt was okay, he would enjoy it and refuse to let Matt live it down. But for now, Foggy needed to get over to Avengers Tower.

Foggy went over to his neighbor's place—Mrs. Jamison's. She was an gray-haired, frail but fierce elderly lady in her late seventies—one of the few people Foggy knew crazy enough to own a car in New York. Despite her age, she was also one of the boldest driver's that Foggy had ever seen. Still, she only ever drove on Sunday mornings and only to and from a church on the other end of the city she had grown up going to and had attended her whole life.

After a few knocks, the door opened. "Foggy, dear, do you need sugar again?" She asked with a soft smile. Foggy knew that Mrs. Jamison was fond of him. He had helped to deal with a maitenence worker trying to overcharge her once

"No. Actually, Mrs. Jamison, I was wondering if I might borrow your car. Matt has an awful headache and needs me to pick him up. He—"

"Of course you can, dear. Poor Matt. You tell him from me that I hope he feels better soon, would you? Let me grab my keys for you. I'll need them back before eight tomorrow morning, but don't rush him, okay."

Foggy smiled. "Thanks, Mrs. Jamison. You're the best, really." Mrs. Jamison stepped forward to give him a quick hug and wished him luck. Once he had the car, Foggy drove to Matt's place—though he had to park nearly seven blocks away and walk. The traffic was ridiculous and it wasn't even busy for New York. He let himself in to Matt's place with his key and went into his room, easily finding the already packed bag tucked under his friend's bed where it could be easily reached if necessary. Ever since he had known Matt, he had known about the got terrible headaches on occasion. They had always happened, and Foggy had hated them since the beginning. The first time it had happened, Foggy had blundered into their dorm room, unaware that Matt wasn't feeling well. As soon as the door had shut behind him—not even loudly, Matt had flinched terribly and let out a rather terrible noise.

He had been curled up on top of his blankets, clutching at his head. Foggy had freaked out a bit and only upset Matt more before realizing just how sensitive to noise he was at the moment. Matt had forced out in the barest of whispers a plea for Foggy to please be quiet. Foggy had immediately shut up and sat down, watching Matt for a long time before fetching Matt a glass of water and going mother hen on him to the extent that his own mother would have been proud. Matt hadn't said anything at the time, but after a few more headaches, he had began to call Foggy when he got the headaches. Every time, Foggy would come over and sit with him and do whatever he could to make the pain more bearable. Over the years, Foggy had encouraged Matt to put a bag together of things that could help him when he was at his worst.

Now that Foggy knew the truth about Matt's senses, he realized that there might be even more to the headaches than he knew. If Matt could really hear everything so loudly—even things normal people couldn't hear, it was likely that noises that were quiet to Foggy were painful to Matt. He would ask later. He would add that to the never-ending list of questions that he had been compiling in his head for his supposed best friend. With a sigh, Foggy tossed the bag into the passenger seat of the car and then started off through the traffic for Avengers Tower. A realizations struck him and he dug out his phone and dialed Matt's number, hoping the ringing wouldn't hurt Matt too much, but really needing to get a hold of someone. After a few rings, it was picked up.

"You almost here? Matt is in a lot of pain. Bruce wants to call an ambulance."

"I think I'm like ten minutes out? Don't call an ambulance yet. I'll know if we need one." Foggy answered, not entirely sure how long it would take to get the last small stretch of the way to the tower. "Hey, so do you have somewhere I can park or do I have to find somewhere and walk?"

"What kind of car do you have?"

"My neighbor's. It's a…a 2002 Sedan—tan."

Tony gave him instructions on how to get to his personal garage and told him that someone—JARVIS?—would let him in.

It took another twelve minutes before Foggy was outside the garage. He was considering what to do next when the doors suddenly opened. He drove the car in and parked, snorting as he looked at the other cars all around it. The Sedan looked terribly out of place—rather filthy and rundown. All the cars surrounding it were worth more money than his family had ever had in their entire lives.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Nelson. I am JARVIS, Mr. Stark's AI. If you take the hallway to your left, it will bring you to an elevator. Mr. Murdock is with the others on the thirty-first floor."

Foggy had jumped badly at the voice, but immediately walked toward the elevator, feeling a bit stupid for being startled and more than a little impressed with Tony Stark's genius. "Thanks." He said to the AI, unsure what the proper protocol was for thanking AIs. Were you supposed to? He supposed that it couldn't hurt. The elevator was already waiting, doors open, and it began to move up without Foggy even pressing a button. It kind of freaked him out. Still, he had more pressing matters on his mind that pulled his thoughts away from the possibility of Stark's robot butler potentially taking over the world. He shifted the bag on his shoulder and waited.

The elevator reached the floor and Foggy stepped off. Tony Stark—the Tony Stark—was waiting for him, casually leaning with his back against the wall. Foggy took a deep breath, but Tony spoke before he could. "Good, you're here. I really didn't think he hit his head hard when he fell, but before he got bad he said it was normal and—"

Foggy's initial inclination to freak out upon meeting an actual Avenger disappeared immediately as it was replaced with increased concern for Matt's welfare. "Just bring me to him. I'll know if we need anything more." As they entered the room, Foggy's eyes immediately searched out Matt. His friend was hunched over on the couch. He looked absolutely miserable, but the only sign of injury was a small wad of gauze on his forehead. Foggy's mind had been conjuring up images of Matt covered in blood or with broken bones. Still, Matt's face was ghostly pale, his hands clenched over his ears and he was trembling. Foggy walked over and sat beside him. "Hey, buddy, I'm here." He kept his voice as soft as possible, but Matt still flinched. A moment later, he shifted, his shoulder brushing against Foggy's slightly. Foggy wasn't really sure if that was an acknowledgement of his presence or a greeting or a plea for help.

"Please make it stop." Matt slurred and Foggy grimaced. A plea for help it was. It was a bad one then.

"You know I can't, Matty. I wish I could." He said gently as he lightly squeezed Matt's arm and glanced up at Tony and Bruce who were watching worriedly. Ignoring them, he turned his attention back to his friend. Foggy reached up and undid Matt's tie, loosening the knot. "You want to change?" Foggy asked quietly.

Matt gave a slight nod. It wasn't just sound that Matt was sensitive to, but every sense except light. Even touch—the fabric of his clothes against his skin—could irritate him terribly. Foggy glanced up at Tony and Bruce hesitating. He really did not want to explain if there were layers of bruises and cuts on his blind friend. Matt seemed to understand. "Haven't been out in a few weeks." He spoke in a quiet whispered that Foggy could barely hear and the men across the room most definitely could not. "S'fine."

"Alright." Foggy dug around in the bag, finding the set of clothes always kept in the bag. Matt had stashed a set of clothes that wasn't as rough on his skin. Foggy ignored Tony and Bruce's continued attention, giving all his focus to Matt as he helped him change into the clothes. Tony and Bruce had turned, giving them a bit of privacy which Foggy was grateful for as Matt still did have a rather inexplicable amount of scars for a blind lawyer. When Matt was changed, Foggy drew out the pair of noise-blocking headphones and gently settled them over Matt's ears. Almost immediately, Matt relaxed a little bit, but the pain was still clearly written across his face. Also in the bag was a weighted blanket. Matt claimed that it grounded him during his episodes when Foggy has asked. He said that if gave him something to focus on. It was a constant and it blocked out the other sensations plaguing him.

Foggy tapped his shoulder lightly and offered him the sedatives from the bottom of the bag. Matt actually seemed to seriously consider them for a few moments—and wasn't that concerning—before giving an almost inaudible refusal. He hadn't really expected Matt to take them since he hated all medication, saying it disoriented him. Vaguely knowing how he perceived the world now, Foggy could understand why he disliked them, but Foggy didn't understand why Matt would not agree to take them when he was clearly in so much pain. He sat beside him for a while, letting Matt lean against him for a while before he coaxed him into laying down, his head pillowed on Foggy's lap. foggy pulled one ear of the headphones away slightly, feeling a surge of guilt when Matt winced strongly. It was even worse knowing that he could have spoken to Matt with them on due to his super hearing, but Tony and Bruce were still in the room, and they didn't know. "Is there anything else I can do?" He murmured, trying to speak as quietly as possibly. The question came out nearly inaudible, but Matt seemed to have heard him clearly.

"Stay."

"You know I will." Foggy replied softly. He replaced the headphones and looked up to see the others had taken chairs. He suddenly felt a bit awkward. Until Matt was fit to be taken home, he was going to be hanging out in Avengers Tower with Tony Stark and Bruce Banner. Not for the first time, Foggy wondered just how Matt managed to get himself into such strange situations.


	3. In Avengers Tower

Foggy was still for a long while as he waited on the couch. His eyes were focused on the lines on Matt's face. It was fairly obvious that Matt was still in a lot of pain despite Foggy having done everything that he knew to ease it. He finally looked up to see that while Bruce had gone elsewhere—though Foggy could hear from the occasional noise that he was still on the floor—Tony was lounging back in a chair, an unreadable expression on his face as he watched Matt.

Seeing that Foggy was now looking at him, Tony spoke quietly. "So does this happen to him very often?"

"Often enough." Foggy replied, keeping his voice soft, he glanced down at Matt, but their voices didn't seem to be causing him anymore discomfort than he already was in. "He has been getting them for as long as I've known him—longer even. Since he was a kid." Foggy snorted suddenly, looking around the room. It was extremely posh, almost to the point of ridiculousness. Everything around them screamed wealth and fortune. It was something that was never seen in Hell's Kitchen. Almost all of the furniture in his apartment had been found in various thrift shops around New York, and their office still had a folding table. The couch they were on was probably worth more than everything he owned combined. He glanced back at Tony Stark. "I'm sorry about taking over your couch, but I'm afraid that we'll have to be here for a while. He can't go out into the city until he is feeling better."

"I owe him that much at least." Tony answered. "He can stay here for as long as he needs to recover." A long period of silence fell between them before Bruce's voice startled Foggy.

"You're absolutely sure that he doesn't need a hospital?"

Foggy nodded his head. A hospital would only cause Matt more pain and there would be nothing that he could do to help. Curiously, he looked back over at Bruce. He knew Tony Stark was Iron Man—everyone knew that—but Bruce Banner was always linked with the Avengers as well. He was fairly sure that this man and the Hulk were connected somehow, but all the news sources seemed iffy on how exactly the two were connected, and he wasn't rude enough to ask—nor did he really want to know. "No, Matt doesn't need a hospital. I'm certain. He can be pretty sensitive to sounds and smells and…everything. He gets bad headaches like this sometimes that make it worse. Hitting his head must have set him off."

"He saved my life." Tony said after a while longer. "Pushed me out of the path of a speeding truck. I have no idea how he even knew that truck was coming or that I was even there, but…"

"He'll surprise you like that." Foggy said, feeling a wave of amusement mixed with resentment, though he kept the latter hidden from Tony and Bruce.

Matt suddenly moved, drawing Foggy's attention. His face was twisted into a grimace and he looked horribly pale. They fell into a long silence, all watching Matt. After what felt like hours, he eventually seemed to settle again. Matt's hands were clenched tightly in fists. Foggy grabbed one, gently forcing his fingers to uncurl. There were deep marks where Matt's fingernails had dug into his palms, though he seemed to have stopped just short of causing himself to bleed. Foggy forced the other one open as well, feeling sick.

"Is there anything that will help?" Bruce asked in a voice hardly louder than a whisper, clearly concerned over Matt's wellness. His question caused Foggy to tear his eyes away from Matt's face.

"Not that we've found. And he didn't want to take anything. It usually doesn't last much longer than this one has. Hopefully he'll start feeling better soon and we can get out of here."

Tony suddenly snorted. "So, Foggy, I've been meaning to ask you. "When I told you where he was, you laughed."

"Matt has weird luck." He answered honestly. If he was to get out of here without accidentally exposing Matt's secret identity, he would need to stick as close to the truth as possible. He knew that he was a decent liar—even if Matt had always known—but it was better for everyone if he kept the lies to a minimum,

"I wouldn't call that luck seeing as what it got him." Tony said, watching Matt shift slightly and bring his hand up to press against his eyes.

Foggy rolled his eyes. "I never say he had good luck. I said he had weird luck. And he does. Trust me."

"I see." Tony frowned suddenly. "Wait…so he's Murdock, and you're Nelson. Why does that ring a bell?"

"Fisk." They both turned to look at Bruce. "That's why, right? Nelson and Murdock. You two are the lawyers that took on Fisk." Foggy nodded.

Tony's eyes lit up with remembrance. "Yeah! That's what it was. That was brilliant, by the way. Incredibly stupid, but brilliant."

A grin touched Foggy's face. "Our first big case. We just started a small law firm together as defense attorneys, but he insists on only taking on clients he is convinced are actually innocent." Foggy rolled his eyes. "Makes it difficult."

Tony snorted. "I can imagine that would. So is he always such a hero?"

Ignoring the irony of that question, Foggy looked down at Matt. "Yeah, actually." Foggy considered what to say, knowing that there was a good possibility that Matt might be listening to their conversation to have something to focus on. "We actually interned at Landman and Zack. Got offered jobs there out of school."

"You turned them down?"

"I was all for working for them, but we had to defend corporations against innocent people. We were destroying their lives for a profit, and I might have been able to live with that, but Matt wouldn't have been able to."

"So you left? Just like that?"

Foggy snorted. "Matt can be very persuasive. Anyway, we always used to joke in law school about starting up our own law firm, but I was never very serious about that. Anyway, now we are set up in Hell's Kitchen."

Tony looked amused. "And you go straight for a crime lord that owned half of Hell's Kitchen."

"In our defense, that wasn't exactly out intent from the beginning." Foggy grinned. "Our secretary—she was our first client—was framed for murder after she saw something she wasn't meant to. One thing led to another, and next thing we know, we are taking on Fisk."

"That was rather risky." Bruce observed.

Foggy shrugged. "It needed to be done. Both Matt and I grew up in Hell's Kitchen and both of us want to see it become a better place. For that to happen, people need to step up and fight for it."

"Like Daredevil."

For a moment, Foggy's mind went completely blank, and he felt Matt stiffen just the slightest amount in his arms. He had hoped that Daredevil would never come up. Foggy was glad his smile hadn't slipped. "Not the first example I would use," Foggy answered, "but yeah. Matt and I ensure that justice is carried out through the legal system. Daredevil keeps the streets safer at night."

Neither of the two men seemed to find anything strange about his answer and neither looked suspicious of anything. Still, Foggy wasn't quite ready to relax yet.

"Your secretary met him—Daredevil."

Foggy nodded, though he wished they would drop the subject. Still, he couldn't ask them too without raising suspicion. "He saved her life. It seemed that Fisk was an enemy of his as well."

"You don't know who he is?"

Obviously he had to lie for that one. "Well, our lines of work don't generally cross, so…" Avoiding the truth without exactly lying was better. Less chance of being caught."

"I suppose so." Tony said, seemingly disappointed. Foggy was glad to see the subject dropped. Tony suddenly stood. "Well, I'm going to check up on one of my projects." He tossed a TV remote onto the couch to the side Matt wasn't occupying. Knock yourself out. You can stay as long as you need, and help yourself to anything in the fridge if you get hungry. Ask JARVIS if you need help." He left and Bruce followed him out.

Foggy finally allowed himself to relax. He simply sat there for a long while before Matt moved, startling him from his thoughts. "Foggy, water?" Matt asked softly.

"Yeah, buddy. Here, I'm going to have to get up. I guess you'll have to settle for a real pillow." Taking care to jostle Matt as little as possible, Foggy slipped off the couch, placing a pillow under Matt's head. Matt winced briefly, but then relaxed again.

Walking into the expansive kitchen, Foggy stared at the cupboards before remembering Tony's words. "JARVIS?" He spoke into the air, feeling rather foolish.

"What may I help you with, Mr. Nelson?"

"Where are glasses for water kept?"

"In the cupboard to the left of the fridge." JARVIS answered. "There is also bottled water in the fridge."

Foggy went to the fridge and grabbed two bottles of water before going back over to the couch and sitting down. He opened one and then carefully helped Matt to sit up before touching the bottle of water to his hand. Matt took it and drank almost half before passing it back to Foggy. Foggy set it on a coaster on the coffee table before opening his own. "Matt, do you mind if I turn the TV on?"

"Go ahead." Matt answered quietly. "It's getting better." Foggy flipped on the TV, keeping the volume low, and found a movie channel. He set down the remote and relaxed.

"Tell me when you're good to go home, alright?"

"Okay." About an hour later, Matt drifted off to sleep. He napped for about forty-five minutes before he woke up again. "I think I could sit." He said after a bit. Foggy helped him up, and Matt immediately brought a hand to his face, pressing it over his eyes. "I'm okay." He reassured Foggy. "Just dizzy."

Another hour passed, and then Matt sighed. "Foggy, I think we can leave now."

Foggy turned off the TV. He took Matt's weighted blanket and folded it, placing it back in the bag before gripping Matt's hand and pulling him to his feet. Matt swayed, clearly still dizzy, but Foggy threw an arm around his waist and Matt leaned on him gratefully.

"JARVIS? Will you let Mr. Stark know that Matt and I are leaving?"

There was a pause. "Sir says that he will meet you in the garage."

Foggy took the elevator down. When they arrived in the garage, Tony was already there, leaning against one of his expensive cars. "He's feeling better then?" Tony asked, looking at Matt.

"Well enough to go home." Foggy answered. "Traffic shouldn't be too bad anymore either so it shouldn't take long. Thanks for letting us stay."

Tony smiled slightly. "Like I said before, I owe him. When he's feeling better I'll drop by. I'd like to meet him."

Foggy nodded, sure that the man speaking to him was likely to do exactly that—most likely when they were least expecting it. "Well, I'm sure he'll be glad to properly meet you as well." Maybe. Foggy felt a bit stupid standing there talking about Matt as if he couldn't hear them, but for all Tony knew, Matt couldn't. "Anyway, I'd better get him home. It was nice to meet you."

"Likewise."

After he had helped Matt into the car, Foggy got into the driver's seat. The garage doors opened. Raising a hand to Tony in farewell, Foggy left the garage and they started on their way home.


	4. The Next Day

Matt had almost immediately gone to sleep after Foggy had brought him home, and Foggy knew he would likely sleep for a long while, but the next morning at eleven he let himself into Matt's apartment using the key he had gotten Matt to give him when he had moved in. Before he had found out that his best friend was secretly a kind of super-powered vigilante he had been more conscientious about breaking into Matt's place unannounced, knowing that he would be freaked out if someone did that to him, and he had the benefit of his sight. Now that he knew, however, he figured Matt probably knew he was coming before he even stepped foot on the block, because apparently Matt could listen to his heartbeat. That was still creepy.

When he entered the room and flicked on the lights, several were burnt out and he made a note to replace them for when Matt had people over. So far it seemed that Matt was still sleeping. Walking over, he peeked through the door and saw his friend sprawled out over his bed, his blankets and silk sheets tangled in a mess around him. Snorting quietly, he walked over to the fridge to see if Matt had anything. Predictably, there was little there other than half eaten containers of take-out, but he saw a carton of eggs and decided to make some for breakfast. Matt insisted that sunny-side up fried eggs were one of the easier things for him to make and they were fast. Foggy could not stand Matt's eggs though. He liked them runny. Foggy made scrambled eggs and poured them juice before going over to Matt's room.

"Matt, time to get up. I made food."

"Foggy?" Matt slurred sleepily. "What time is it?"

Foggy looked at his phone. "Eleven-thirty now." He said. "Time to get up. How do you feel?"

Matt stretched, sitting up in bed. Foggy winced as he saw all the scars on Matt's body. He had seem them before now, but it was still awful. His friend suddenly turned to him, and Foggy knew he had given away something. "What is it?"

"Your scars." Foggy said with a sigh. "I'll never be used to that."

Matt grabbed a shirt and slipped it on, covering his scars. "Scrambled eggs?" He questioned.

"You need to go grocery shopping." Foggy criticized.

They ate in mostly silence until Foggy decided he couldn't wait any longer. "So…Tony Stark?" He prodded, a wide smirk on his face. Matt groaned.

"Don't remind me."

"Oh, I am so never letting you forget this. I got a phone call from Tony Stark saying you saved his life by pushing him out of the way of a truck. Dude, how does this stuff even happen to you?"

"I didn't know who he was until after."

Foggy snorted. "That makes it even better. On the upside, I got to visit Avengers Tower. Next time you should do something like this when Captain America is there." Matt smiled at that. "By the way, I'm not sure how much you remember since you were totally out of it, but Tony Stark said that he was going to stop by sometime to actually meet you. What do you think the chances are that we can convince him to send some rich clients our way?"

"Foggy!" Matt complained with a laugh. "I am not going to try and use saving him to guilt him into giving us stuff."

"How about a copier that works well? That's like nothing to him."

"Foggy."

"Yeah, yeah, I get it." He gathered their dishes and took them to the sink to clean. "Well that was pretty much lunch since you slept so late, but do you have any plans for today?"

He received a shrug in reply. "I never went to pick up the papers we needed."

Foggy stared at him. "What? Yeah, sure, but I'm coming with you this time. If I don't who know what trouble you will get yourself into."

Twenty minutes later they were back onto a bus heading out of Hell's Kitchen. It didn't take long to get the documents they needed, and ten minutes later they were taking a walk in central park. "When was the last time we did something like this?" Foggy asked. It was a warm day out, and lots of people were in the park.

"Too long." Matt answered. He suddenly stopped, his grip on Foggy's arm causing him to stop as well. "There is a group of girls." He suddenly said quietly. "About thirty feet to the right." Foggy glanced over and saw the girls. They were giggly and staring directly at them. One had her phone up and seemed to be taking a picture. Matt suddenly tugged Foggy forward.

"What was that?" Foggy asked.

Matt's expression took on a hint of suffering. "They recognized me. They are talking about some internet article."

Foggy suddenly laughed. "I am so finding that article. Let's bail before we get mobbed or something." Matt looked unamused, but Foggy couldn't stop grinning. "Let's duck into a café or something. I need to find this." Matt didn't look thrilled, but seemed anxious to get away from the area. The girls had already seemed to have told several other people and more people were watching.

Slipping into a small coffee shop, they each ordered a drink. Matt seemed grateful the barista did not see the article or connect him with it. As soon as they were sitting at a booth in a corner, Foggy whipped out his phone and searched. The article was easy to find and several news sources had already reported it. He grinned and clicked a link.

"They have a video!" He clicked it and watched as it loaded. It wasn't the highest quality video. Clearly taken from someone's phone and focusing on Tony Stark. They had clearly intended to prove to friends their close encounter with a famous person. Foggy rolled his eyes. The video started with Tony crossing the street. From the angle of the video, you couldn't see the truck coming, but Matt, who had been just about to get off the street, suddenly turned and lunged towards Tony. A truck flashed by, blocking them from sight for a moment before you could see both Matt and Tony on the ground. Matt looked clearly dazed and Foggy felt a pang of sympathy, knowing that the hours after had been miserable for his friend. The clip ended as Tony led Matt off the road and towards Avengers Tower. Matt was sipping at his coffee, pointedly ignoring Foggy.

"Want to know what the article is titled?"

"I know you're going to tell me anyway."

Foggy grinned. "Of course. You'll love this. It's titled 'Ironman Rescued by Blind Savior'. The video is pretty decent actually. Obviously clear enough for a couple of girls to recognize you. I'm going to read you the article."

Matt groaned at the pure delight Foggy was getting from this. Foggy cleared his throat dramatically.

"No one could have expected the events that occurred Saturday afternoon just in front of Avengers Tower. Tony Stark was returning from a meeting and on the phone when he came to the street. Oblivious to the danger approaching, he crossed and would have been killed if not for an everyday hero who was about to finish crossing the street. The moment he became aware of the danger, this man turned and tackled the billionaire out of harm's way. A speeding truck missed the two by bare inches.

"What makes this story even more astounding is that the man who saved the life of Tony Stark is blind. How he was able to act so quickly we are not sure, but one thing that we do know for certain is that we, as a city, are grateful for this stranger's timely intervention in saving the life of one of our city's greatest heroes.

"Tony Stark has commented that he is grateful to his savior, but he refused to give up the name of the blind hero who pushed him out of the way of the truck. Everyone is curious though just who this man is.

"The truck driver has been identified and is currently being investigated. We will keep you updated about any new information we discover relating to this story."

"Someone is going to recognize me." Matt said, not nearly as amused as Foggy. "Fisk's trial wasn't exactly low profile, and if the video was good enough for those girls to recognize me, it's only a matter of time."

"Matt, you are acting like you been handed a death sentence."

As they finished their coffees, Matt sighed. "I think I'll just head home for the day. By tomorrow people will probably connect me with the video. Why did it have to be Stark?"

"It's your luck, Matt." Foggy suddenly went still, but Matt knew that he was grinning wider than ever. "Matt, we never told Karen." Matt reached out and quickly snatched his phone. "She'll find out anyway." Foggy persisted

"Later." Matt insisted. "I just want to go home for now."

"Alright.' Foggy said. "Home."

 **A.N. You guys are all awesome! There should be two more chapters to finish out this part, and then I will be posting a continuation focusing on Daredevil meeting the Avengers either as part of this or as a separate piece. Let me know what you think, and input is always welcomed! Expect more from me soon!**


	5. Karen

Monday morning came quickly, and Matt arrived at work without incident. The weather was warm and sunny, and no one seemed to give him any more notice than usual as he made his way to the office. It seemed that people had yet to connect him with the articles that were popping up all over online Foggy had rather gleefully informed him that the video of him pushing Tony Stark out of the way of the incoming truck was going viral, and that only convinced Matt even more that soon enough someone would connect him with the video. One that happened, he was likely to have little peace for a few days.

As he entered into their office, Matt hung up his jacket and set down his spare cane against the wall by the door. He would have to see about ordering a new one. The spare was old and from when he was beginning college, and though it wasn't too different, it was just slightly shorter than the one he was used to and even the faint difference was putting him off-balance a bit. He could, of course, adjust to it, but it was about time he replaced his cane anyway.

Matt was the first to arrive at the office that morning as he had intended when he left early. He started a pot of their bad coffee and then gathered a stack of papers that he needed to get through. Once the coffee was done, he poured himself a glass and sat behind his desk, skimming over the papers with the fingers of one hand. They were all standard and a bit uninteresting.

It was about half an hour before he heard someone fumbling with keys. Karen had arrived. A quick check of his watch told him it was about the same time she always arrived in the morning, though she was often the first there. The door swung open and she came in. "Already working?" She asked in a friendly way, turning towards Matt's office.

"I decided to get a head start today. I still have quite a few papers from last week that I need to get on top of. How was your weekend?"

"Good." She answered, pouring herself a cup of coffee. Matt had risen to stand in the doorway to talk to her. "I didn't do all that much." She continued. "How about you?" Matt hesitated. Karen's heart suddenly sped up a bit, but before he could ask if something was wrong she spoke. "Matt, you're hurt again!" Before he could respond, she had stepped forward and carefully moved his hair away from where he had left it to cover the bump on his forehead. Her fingers brushed over the sensitive skin lightly and he winced a bit. "Sorry." She apologized, pulling her fingers away from the bump. "What happened?"

Matt hesitated, debating explaining for once, and then snorted. "I'll let Foggy tell you. I won't deprive him of that joy." It was obvious that Karen was confused quite a bit by his comment, but she didn't say anything, instead she grabbed his coffee from his hands and topped it off before giving it back to him. She was still worried. "Karen, I promise you I'm fine, really. It wasn't anything bad."

"But you won't tell me?"

"Trust me, Foggy will tell you everything I'm sure." If he were honest with himself, Matt just didn't want to have to bother with the explanation. He wondered how he would go about telling that story anyway. Was he just supposed to blurt out that he had hit his head pushing Tony Stark out of the way of a speeding truck? Even in his head that sounded ridiculous. And Foggy would get a kick out of showing the articles to Karen anyway. It would amuse him even more thinking that Matt tried to avoid the subject. Matt could let Foggy have that.

"Well," Karen began, her voice sounding slightly uncertain, "I'll hold you to it. But you should know that if Foggy doesn't tell me, I'm coming after you. You really have to start taking better care of yourself. I worry about you."

A small smile touched Matt's lips. "Thanks, Karen. I'm going to get back to work now. I'm sure Foggy will be here any minute to tell you everything."

It turned out that Foggy was late to work by almost half an hour and he came with a box of donuts that he set down on the counter. Karen greeted him and took a donut before pausing. "So will you tell me why Matt has another bruise on his face? He was avoiding the question."

Matt groaned as he could sense Foggy's excitement from the other room. "He didn't tell you?" Foggy's voice was brimming with mirth. "And you didn't see?" It had been on several of the major news channels by now. "This is too good." Foggy swung Matt's door open. "Matty, you've been holding out on Karen!"

"How could I deprive you of that pleasure?" Matt replied sarcastically and Foggy's grin widened further. Matt gave a shrug. "I'm sure you remember more of it than I do anyway."

Foggy frowned for a moment. "Don't be such a Debbie Downer." Foggy turned to Karen who was now standing just inside the door, clearly amused by their antics and relieved, Matt was sure, that most of the tension that had existed between them was gone for at least the moment. Foggy turned dramatically. "Our Matty is a hero!" Karen was very obviously confused by now, looking between the two of them as if they were mad. "He saved Tony Stark's life!" Foggy blurted, clearly unable to keep the drama up any longer.

"What?" Karen asked, even more baffled, but also extremely curious. "You're serious." She turned to Matt. "Matt? Did you really?"

"I didn't know it was him."

Foggy was loving every minute of the story. "Imagine my surprise when, as I am lazing about at my place watching TV and extremely bored, I get a call from Matt's number, but instead of Matt it's Tony Stark asking if I'd come down to Avengers Tower to pick up my friend." Karen was stunned and a bit disbelieving. "I thought that you would have seen the story on the news. They are pretty much playing it everywhere now. I'm going to find you an article."

He did, searching until he found a good one with the video and then gave it to Karen. She played the video and gasped as it rolled through. Before she read the article, she looked up at Matt in concern. "Are you completely sure you are okay?"

"I'm alright, Karen. Honestly I can hardly feel it anymore unless I touch it. I'll be fine." She nodded and looked back to the article, reading it rather quickly and then setting it down. "How did you even know someone was there?" She asked curiously.

Matt gave a shrug, ignoring how Foggy tensed up a bit behind her. "I have to be more aware of my surroundings than other people. It was just instinct I guess." He gave her a smile. "They still haven't connected me with the video yet?"

"It doesn't seem like it. Do you think they will?" Karen asked.

Foggy was suddenly back in the conversation again. "Oh they definitely will. Yesterday I went with Matt to pick up the papers we needed since he obviously didn't get it done on Saturday, and after we got them we went to the park and there was this group of girls." Matt tuned Foggy out as he began to retell the story, emphasizing things with large, flailing hand gestures and embellishing other parts. Matt let him. When he had finished the story, both were laughing. "And there is one more thing you should know." Foggy continued.

"Yeah?" Karen asked. By now, Matt could hear that she was bracing herself not to be too surprised or to react to whatever Foggy was about to tell her.

"When we were leaving Avengers Tower, Tony Stark said that he was going to stop by sometime to meet Matt properly since he was a bit out of it on Saturday." Karen was clearly even more shocked by that and looked around their place dubiously. "It is a bit of a dump, but it's our dump." Foggy defended their office against her unspoken judgment. "I just thought that you should have a heads up, you know. In case he shows up at our office unexpectedly."

"You really think he will?" Karen asked interestedly.

"He seemed serious about it." Foggy answered. "And he definitely seems the sort to show up unexpectedly. Do you think he could get me Captain America's autograph if I asked?"

Matt snorted at that. "Back to work, guys. I'm sure that you'll both have plenty to gossip about later.

And they would, Matt was sure. It was only a matter of time before his name was linked with the cell phone video, and he was certain that Tony Stark would come visit sometime. Until then though, he planned to enjoy the normalcy while it still lasted.


	6. A Visit From Tony Stark

Tuesday came and went without anyone connecting Matt with the video that was now everywhere on the internet. However, he knew it was a matter of time, and Wednesday morning, when he was getting ready, his phone went off, sounding Foggy's name. He grabbed it and answered.

"Matt! Guess what is playing on the news right now."

Matt groaned. There was only one reason that Foggy would call him rather than waiting twenty minutes to when Matt usually arrived at their office in the morning. "I'd rather not. I'm thinking I already know."

"It's getting even more attention than I expected it to. You're a local hero all over again!"

Switching the phone to his other hand, Matt stuffed some papers he had been reviewing into his bag and set it on the counter. "Great." He said wryly. "Look, Foggy, I'll see you soon. I'm going to head out now."

"Sounds good." Foggy's laugh echoed over the line even as Matt hung up. Grabbing his glasses and cane, Matt left his apartment. It seemed that his luck would not hold as the moment he stepped outside, a woman standing at the bus stop turned to stare at him very obviously. Of course, if he were blind in the traditional sense, he would never have noticed. However, that made it seem almost ruder. He could hear her take out her phone and take a picture. Matt gritted his teeth together at her complete lack of politeness, but he couldn't allow her to see that he noticed without giving himself away.

Others continued to recognize him on his brief walk to the office, though none were nearly as obvious or rude as the first woman. Matt arrived not five minutes later and collapsed onto his chair with a groan.

"That bad?" Karen's voice was full of amusement even as she passed him a cup of coffee. She sat on the edge of his desk. "Foggy called me this morning—told me to turn on the news." He could tell that she was grinning.

"How bad was it?"

"You're overreacting, Matt. It wasn't that bad. Mostly. The station I watched just played the video and then talked about how we took down Fisk. Now, of course since it's the media they are playing it up a bit and…" She took a dramatic breath. "I might have searched the internet and found out that you might be asked about a potential interview—"

"No."

He could tell that she was grinning, but when Matt didn't respond she became a bit more serious and reached out to grip the hand he wasn't holding his coffee with. "Matt, if this is really bothering you that much neither of us will mind if you stay home to wait out the hype for a few days. It isn't like we have a ton of pressing cases right now."

Matt felt a wave of gratitude for Karen, and was once again grateful that they had somehow managed to find her and that she was willing to stay. "It's more just annoyance than anything." He admitted. "It had to be Tony Stark."

Karen huffed out a laugh. "Foggy insists that this kind of luck has always followed you, but you're right. If it hadn't been Stark than I doubt that it would have gotten more than a little attention."

"If it hadn't been Stark there would have been no one to take a video of it." Matt countered and Karen agreed with a smile.

"It'll all blow over in a couple of days likely. You just have to tough it out until then."

The door opened and Foggy came in. He immediately joined them, claiming another spot on the other corner of Matt's desk. "What are we talking about?"

"Oh, just that it's possible that Matt might be approached to do an interview." Matt's goodwill toward Karen faltered a bit at that.

"No." Matt repeated, though it was clear that Foggy and Karen were no longer listening to him. "I don't want an interview."

Foggy laughed. "Think of the publicity, Matt! We need clients. This is the perfect way to get our name out there more." Foggy paused to get himself coffee. "As soon as we have money to make a budget we really need to plan on putting some towards advertising. Because our lack of clients is just sad. When I think of all the money I would be making right now if I had—"

"Sold your soul?" Matt suggested with a grin.

Foggy made a wounded noise. "I'll have you know that a six figure income might be enough to cover the price of my soul and then some."

They all went silent as the door to their office opened. Matt had been two distracted talking to his friends to really be paying attention, but he immediately focused his senses at the person standing in his doorway and had to fight to remain neutral despite being tempted to slam his head against the wall. The strange electrical static noise gave the person's identity away immediately.

"Oh my god! You're Tony Stark." Karen squealed, leaping off his desk to her feet, and Matt gave into the impulse a bit, dropping his head into his hands.

"Guilty." Tony said to Karen. "But I'm afraid that I don't have the honor of knowing your name."

Matt snorted. "There is no chance that you didn't look me up. And if you found our office, then you no doubt know her name."

"I can see why you are a lawyer." He said, a note of complaint in his voice. Matt sat up properly and gave Foggy a sudden shove off of his desk. He barely landed on his feet.

"Now that was uncalled for." He protested once he had regained his balance.

It was clear to Matt that Tony was amused. "Pepper insisted that I should call ahead so as not to interrupt your very important lawyer work. I can see that you are very busy and she was clearly right."

"We were just telling Matt how the public finally connected his name with the video."

"I watched that." Tony commented offhandedly. "Actually Pepper made me wait to come over and visit until after you were connected to it." His voice was almost whiny as he explained that, and Matt just knew that his day was going downhill fast and it was barely eight in the morning. There was no way that Foggy and Stark weren't going to get along splendidly. Tony continued and Matt caught the tail end of his rambling. "I think I might be even more confused how you did it now that I've seen the video. By the way, here. I owe you this."

Yes. His day was going horribly. Tony had just tossed something at him. Again. And unlike before when he hadn't had to fake not being able to sense what was coming, today he could track it as it grew nearer. He was always surprised by the amount of pure will power it took to not flinch when he knew something was about to hit him, but he managed. The last thing he needed was to give Tony more reason to be interested in him. His secret wouldn't last a day with the genius prying into his life with more than a cursory interest.

Whatever Tony had tossed hit him, ricocheting off of his chin and then clattering to the floor. As soon as it stopped, dead silence filled the room before it was broken by Foggy bursting out laughing. Karen immediately turned to scold Foggy for his mirth at his friend's plight, not knowing that before finding out Matt's secret, Foggy would have been the first to tear into whoever did something so thoughtless. Matt couldn't blame him now though for his amusement. Though he couldn't find it funny himself, he could easily see how it would be to someone who knew.

"I did it again." Tony commented with a bit of dismay. "If you ever meet Pepper you have to do me a favor and not tell her."

"Again?" Karen demanded, turning from Foggy now to Tony, clearly riled up. Apparently her awe of being in the presence of one of New York's hero's had worn off enough for her to take offense. "You mean you threw something at him before!"

Tony was silent for a few moments, and Matt thought he was contemplating escape in the face of Karen's wrath before he shook his head and spoke. "Why is every woman I ever meet terrifying?" He complained. "She's like another Pepper, and she doesn't even know me." Tony eyed Karen for a moment before picking whatever he had thrown up off of the floor and carefully offered it to Matt who took it curiously, running his fingers along it. It was a new cane, though the material was unlike any he had had previously. "I researched them." Tony explained, glancing at Karen for a moment. "This one is better."

"How does it open?" Matt asked after running his fingers along it, searching.

Tony reached out. "At the end. Here." He showed Matt a small almost unnoticeable button and the cane automatically extended to its full length. "The other direction closes it. I read about the problems. This is a new material I made a while back. Hadn't found any applications until now, but… It should give you better feedback than the options on the market, and I'll be surprised if you can break it even if you try. It weights half as much as the traditional options."

Matt swung the cane back and then curiously turned to make it tap the wall. It felt different, but he didn't doubt that it would likely turn out better. "Thanks." He said genuinely, tapping the button and feeling it retract. He was slightly touched that the man had put time into making something useful for him.

"You can be my test subject too. If it works well, it shouldn't be difficult to produce on a large scale." Before Matt could respond there was the sound of someone approaching. It was clear she was rather thrown by the sight of Tony Stark there, but Foggy immediately stepped in.

"No, come on in. We were just finishing up here anyway." Foggy told her.

"I suppose that is my cue to leave." Stark said with a hint of amusement. "I see how it is." He turned back to Matt. "Don't think I'm not going to find you sometime when you aren't working. I still want to know how you did what you did, and I'm going to find out."

With that last remark, Tony Stark left their office. Matt shook his head in a bit of disbelief. His life had taken a very strange turn in the last few years, but now even as Matt—not Daredevil—it was becoming more and more strange. He would deal with the few reporters looking for a statement and it would pass, but he knew that eventually, his two lives would cross and it would become even stranger than before. It had already started with Foggy knowing his secret. Matt turned to join Foggy with the potential client in the office, determined to not worry and simply face his problems as they came.

 **AN: This story line is continued in the sequel, A Rising Threat.**


End file.
